Your Moment of Trust
A Podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties: A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repairs in Santa Barbara for Supporting this Podcast! Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! A new text message scam seems so innocent that it’s tempting to reply. But con artists are using phony “wrong number” texts to lure victims into conversation and falling for a scam. How the scam works You receive a text that reads something like this: “Hey is this John? It’s Amanda. We chatted on Tinder before when I came to visit my cousin but we never met irl. I’m back in town if you want...
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A Podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties: http A BIG thank you to in Santa Barbara Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! The end of the year is a time to show appreciation for those who provide necessary services and little luxuries in your daily life. But this year, the increased cost of goods and services means you may need to pay extra attention to your tipping budget. Even if you are limited in what you can give, there’s no need to feel uncomfortable. A little extra thoughtfulness can go a long way. Determining who to tip and how...
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A Podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties: https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-of-the-tri-counties A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repair for supporting this podcast! https://www.ayersrepairs.com Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! Even with inflation worries this holiday season, most pet owners still plan on spoiling their fur babies with holiday gifts. According to a poll by Chewy in 2022 (Chewy is a BBB Accredited Business), more than 90% of pet owners include their pets on their holiday shopping list, and another study shows that giving to pets makes people happy....
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A Podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repair for supporting this podcast. https://www.ayersrepairs.com Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! Supply chain problems, shipping delays, and inflation can make it even tougher to create and stick to a budget during the holidays. This meansthat planning ahead and knowing your sp ending limits are more important than ever. How can you build a holiday budget that will cover buying for everyone on your list while keeping you out of debt? BBB recommends the following steps for...
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Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! When shopping for a team jersey or other sports memorabilia, Watch out for fakes. Scammers know that authentic game-used and/or autographed items can fetch big bucks – especially for items commemorating big games. When shopping online, it can be hard to trust that a seller or product is genuine. Follow these tips when buying sports memorabilia: “Game-used” items are highly sought after. Buyers prize items that saw action on the court or field as valuable parts of sports history. Consumers should be aware that there is a...
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A podcast by A BIG thank you to in Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast! Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! You’ve likely heard ads on the TV or radio about the Camp Lejeune class action lawsuit for U.S. military veterans and their families exposed to tainted water at the camp. Marketing agencies and law firms spent over $40 million advertising the lawsuit. Now, scammers are jumping on board too, hoping all the media attention makes it easier to trick people, especially military personnel, into falling for common scam tactics. How the scam...
info_outline Beware of Holiday Job Scams!Your Moment of Trust
A Podcast by A BIG Thank you to for Supporting this Podcast Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! Retailers and shippers traditionally hire seasonal workers to fulfill holiday shoppers' demands, whether online or in person. These jobs are a great way to make extra money, sometimes with the possibility of turning into a long-term employment opportunity. However, they are sometimes not all that they seem. When looking for something part-time or to fill the gap until a better opportunity comes, the Better Business Bureau has some suggestions to make the seasonal job...
info_outline ZOMBIE DEBT...Don't Let it Come Back to HAUNT YOU!Your Moment of Trust
A Podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties: A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repair in Santa Barbara, for supporting this podcast. Welcome to this week's edition of Your Moment of Trust! Zombie debt is defined as debt that has been “raised from the dead,” so to speak. It could even be something you never owed at all. When a person doesn’t pay a debt, the lender will take action – by phone, letter, or even a court case – to collect the money they are owed. In some cases, though, the debtor simply can’t pay or can’t be found. In other cases, the debtor files...
info_outline Did you Make this Purchase? DON'T ANSWER THIS TEXT!Your Moment of Trust
This Podcast is Brought to you by A BIG thank you to of Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast! Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! One of scammers' favorite tactics is impersonating a person or organization you know and trust. That's the premise of this new text message scam, which has been popping up in recent BBB Scam Tracker reports. This time, con artists are impersonating your bank. How the scam works You receive a text message that looks like a fraud alert from your bank. It claims there is some unusual activity in your...
info_outlineA Podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties: https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-of-the-tri-counties A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repairs in Santa Barbara for Supporting this Podcast!
Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! A new text message scam
seems so innocent that it’s tempting to reply. But con artists are using phony “wrong
number” texts to lure victims into conversation and falling for a scam.
How the scam works
You receive a text that reads something like this: “Hey is this John? It’s Amanda. We
chatted on Tinder before when I came to visit my cousin but we never met irl. I’m
back in town if you want to meet up this time, are you free?”
If you reply to a text like this, even with a polite, “Sorry, wrong number,” the stranger
responds anyway, seemingly ignoring your answer. Usually, you’ll receive a few
compliments and some photos of “Amanda,” who appears to be a scantily clad blonde
woman. However, as the word gets out about this scam, scammers will change up the
names, backstory, and photos.
If you continue to engage with the stranger, who is really a chat bot, it tries to trick you into registering for dating or adult websites. Your new “friend” will encourage you to sign up for a specific website to see more explicit photos, which may involve offering up your credit card number. Considering the dubious nature of this scam, if you hand over your credit card information at any point, you could be putting yourself at risk for fraudulent charges and identity theft.
Even BBB staff has received these texts. “I did a double-take,” says Pam Anson,
Director of Brand Outreach for BBB Serving Greater Cleveland. “It’s a different
approach than most scammers take and I didn’t think anything too seriously until more of my friends started to say that they also received it... It’s obvious that the scammers are trying to elicit a response, such as sympathy, to this woman for receiving a fake number from a friend, but we need to remind consumers that appearances can be deceiving.”
How to avoid chat bot scams
● Ignore texts from strangers. Strangers on the internet can pretend to be
anyone. Question motives behind both solicited and unsolicited messages. If you
receive a text from someone you don’t know, simply don’t reply. It’s the safest
route. If you engage with a scammer, even briefly, they will mark your number as
active and you could receive even more shady texts in the future.
● Block numbers that appear to come from scammers. Unsolicited texts that
look like they come from a chat bot or that ask you to click on suspicious links are
probably not safe. Block these numbers to prevent scammers from contacting
you through them again.
Never give your personal information to strangers. Never share your credit
card or banking information, your full name, home address, or social security
number with someone you never met in person. Remember that any photo you
upload on social media can be stolen and used by a scammer.
For more information
If you have compromised your personal information, you can report the incident to law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission.
For additional romance scam resources visit BBB.org/romance. Read the BBB Tip: Spot
the red flags of fake text messages. Read more about similar scams, such about text
messages with surprise offers.
If you’ve been the victim of a text message scam, report it at BBB.org/ScamTracker.
Your report can help expose scammers’ tactics so others won’t fall prey.
Until next time!